Inspired by History, Made for Today
Stone Collection
Precious stones were known and loved by the early Irish. Many, including amethyst, topaz, emerald, sapphire, and garnet are native to this country, although not commercially mined, and several Irish rivers were celebrated for their pearl-producing mussels from early historical times.
In keeping with the Celtic love of bright gems, we offer the option of stones for every design they will fit on. As we set each stone by hand, we are able to put almost any stone you want in any position on the piece you prefer
To enhance the historical character of most of our designs, we generally use cabochons (smooth-cut stones) set in a plain bezel. Faceting in the modern sense was not developed until approximately the sixteenth century, and most facet-cuts used today were invented in the nine-teeth and twentieth centuries. We will, however, set faceted stones to our customers’ requirements.
We use only natural stones in our pieces. We have a wide primary range of stones in stock, and can easily supply others upon request.
Our Primary Stone Range
Amber
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Amber has been the favorite gem of Northern Europe since the Stone Age. Its clear golden colour, warmth when touched (it is not a true stone, but rather fossilized tree sap), and electrical properties have led to it being seen as a stone of the Sun and a protection against all evils by both the Celtic and Norse peoples. The love of amber continued into the Christian period: for instance, the Ardagh Chalice and Tara Brooch are both ornamented with amber cabochons.
Amethyst
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The faerie-realm in the Celtic legend Yonec/Jonet (originally transcribed in French and translated into Norse in the early 13th century Strengleikar) includes censers carved of amethyst. This stone’s deep purple glow seemed fitting to the mysterious lands of the Otherworld, and still evokes the majesty and beauty of the halls of the Sidhe beneath Ireland’s ancient mounds.
Carnelian
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Like garnets and rubies, this stone’s bright red colour brings the images of noble warriors and mighty goddesses to the Celtic mind.
Emerald
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Ireland has long been called the “Emerald Isle” for its rich greenery. While emeralds were not often used in ancient Irish jewelry, the bright green of this stone is commonly understood as a symbol of Irish heritage.
Moonstone
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The subtle glow of the moonstone evokes the mists and moonlight of the Celtic countries.
Pearl
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As mentioned above, several of Ireland’s rivers were once famed for the quality of pearls their mussels produced. The smooth, warm glow of these natural jewels made pearls so valued and beloved that the old word for them, seld, came to be used for any piece of jewelry or object of significant worth.
Peridot
In ancient and mediaeval times, no distinction was made between this clear green stone and true emeralds; Cleopatra's famous “emeralds”, for instance, are now thought to have been peridots. As with emeralds, the peridot's colour recalls the rich green fields of Ireland, and is perhaps more affordably priced for the majority of customers.
Rock Crystal
Clear rock crystal is seldom seen in modern jewelry, but was very popular in Northern Europe in the Dark Ages. The Ardagh Chalice is ornamented with a large rock crystal cabochon surrounded by amber, and a great many pieces of Viking jewelry include this stone. The “Land of Cokaygne” mentions that, “When the monks go to Mass, all the windows which are of glass turn into radiant crystal, to give them more light.” Quartz is found regularly in the megalithic burials of Ireland’s Stone Age. It is thought that the wall around Newgrange was originally faced entirely in sparkling white quartz, and quantities of white quartz were also found at the related mounds of Knowth and Dowth.
Quartz
The Irish for quartz is grian cloch, “stone of the sun”. This connection may go back to the days of the megalith builders: the slit through which the winter solstice sunrise shines into Newgrange’s internal chamber was apparently closed with a block of quartz when not in use.
Ruby
Brightest and most precious of all the red stones so beloved by the early Irish for their great figures of myth and legend, the addition of a ruby to any piece of jewelry makes it well fit for a queen, king, or noble warrior, or to inspire anyone who yearns for the ancient glories embodied by such heroic figures as Queen Maeve and Cú Chulainn.
Sapphire
Sapphires are the first stone mentioned in the mediaeval “Land of Cokagyne”, serving to evoke the rich glory of the Otherworld. Their blue radiance recalls the beauty of Ireland’s deep lakes and the seas surrounding our island.
Historical notes on gemstones in Ireland
The beauty of precious stones was often celebrated in mediaeval Irish literature. The mediaeval Anglo-Irish poem “Land of Cokaygne” describes a marvelous land in the western sea, probably the same as the earlier Tir na nOg, where there are four springs in the abbey of healing ointment and healing medicine of balsam and also spiced wine. Ever running from these streams, without diminishing the whole world, are precious stones and gold.
There is sapphire and large pearl, carbuncle and moonstone, emerald, ligure and prasine, beryl, onyx, topaz, amethyst and chrysolite, chalcedony and red precious stone.
Red stones were especially prized for their colour, which was associated with royalty and heroism. When King Echu first sees the goddess-heroine Etain, she is holding a silver bowl ornamented with gold birds and “bright, tiny gems of crimson carbuncle on its rim”. The word “carbuncle” in the early and mediaeval Irish text may have referred to either: garnets, rubies, or star rubies – garnets are the most likely, since the Cattle-Raid of Cooley mentions both rubies and carbuncles.
The hall where King Conchobar’s elite warband, the Red Branch, lived is described as containing “nine compartments of red yew, partitioned by walls of bronze, all grouped around the king's private chamber, which had a ceiling of silver, and bronze pillars adorned with gold and carbuncles.” When the Connacht hero Ferdiad goes to fight Cú Chulainn in the famous duel at the ford, he wears a helm “whereon were forty carbuncle-gems beautifully adorning it and studded with red enamel and crystal and rubies and with shining stones of the Eastern world.”
